Athletics beat Astros 7-1 to move into tie for AL West lead

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Trevor Cahill pitched one-hit ball for seven shutout innings and the Oakland Athletics, far behind in the AL West standings earlier this summer, tied Houston for the division lead by beating the Astros 7-1 Saturday.

Khris Davis, Matt Olson, Josh Phegley and Stephen Piscotty each hit two of Oakland’s team record-tying eight doubles as the A’s won for the sixth time in seven games. The Athletics trailed the defending World Series champion Astros by 11 1/2 games on June 24 and were still 10 out on July 10.

Houston has lost seven of eight and dropped 12 of 19 since owning a six-game lead on July 24. The next day, reigning AL MVP Jose Altuve went on the disabled list, and the star second baseman is still out.

Cahill (5-2) struck out seven, walked one and retired 14 straight batters during one stretch.

Tony Kemp homered in the ninth for Houston’s only other hit. Dallas Keuchel (9-10) gave up five runs in 5 2/3 innings.

ATLANTA (AP) — Colorado struck for three runs with two outs in the ninth inning, and then DJ LeMahieu homered over the center field wall in the 10th to help beat Atlanta.

Fill-in closer A.J. Minter came in with a 3-0 lead to begin the ninth and retired the first two Colorado batters. But the Rockies followed with four straight hits off him, including a two-run double by Ian Desmond and a tying single by pinch-hitter Gerardo Parra.

LeMahieu hit his 10th homer with one out in the 10th off Luke Jackson (1-1). Carlos Gonzalez followed with a double and scored on Nolan Arenado’s single.

Didi Gregorius, Miguel Andujar and Greg Bird also connected as New York moved 31 games over .500, matching a season high. Andujar had three hits and three RBIs, and Gregorius also drove in three runs.

Toronto has lost three straight and four of six. Billy McKinney, who came over when the Blue Jays traded J.A. Happ to the Yankees last month, had two hits and two RBIs against his former team, but Sean Reid-Foley (0-2) was hit hard in his second major league start.

Severino (16-6) won for just the second time in his last seven starts. The All-Star right-hander allowed two runs and six hits in five-plus innings.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Marcell Ozuna homered, Miles Mikolas tossed six effective innings and St. Louis beat Milwaukee to slide into position for the second NL wild card.

St. Louis moved a half-game ahead of Milwaukee and within four of the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.

The Cardinals, who are a half-game behind wild card-leading Philadelphia, have won 10 of their last 11 and captured their seventh straight series after winning the opener of the three-game set on Friday.

BOSTON (AP) — David Price pitched seven solid innings, J.D. Martinez hit his major league-leading 38th homer, and Boston jumped to a quick lead to beat Tampa Bay for its 17th victory in 20 games.

Mitch Moreland added an RBI double during Boston’s four-run first inning. The Red Sox improved to a season-high 52 games over .500 and maintained their 10½-game lead over the second-place New York Yankees in the AL East.

Price (13-6) gave up two runs on five hits, striking out eight, walking two and hitting a batter. He is 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA in his five starts since the All-Star break.

Tyler Glasnow (0-1), making his fourth start since being acquired from Pittsburgh at the non-waiver trading deadline, gave up five runs, four earned, and three hits. He walked three and struck out four in 6 2/3 innings.

Seattle loaded the bases with one out, and with a one-strike count on Kyle Seager, Floro initiated his delivery before stepping off the mound. First base umpire Andy Fletcher called him for the game-ending balk. There was little argument from Floro, although Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts sought an explanation as Seattle celebrated the odd victory.

Seattle led 4-1 entering the eighth inning, but Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy all hit solo home runs to force extra innings. Seattle improved to 12-1 in extra-inning games this season.

Adam Warren (2-1) allowed a leadoff walk but finished off the 10th untouched to get the victory.

Pujols hit a solo home run in the second inning and a two-run single in the third against Rangers starter Martin Perez. He singled home another run in the seventh against losing pitcher Eddie Butler (2-3) for a 7-6 lead.

Ohtani then came on as a pinch hitter and homered to center field before Taylor Ward hit his first major league homer to complete the five-run inning.

Winning pitcher Cam Bedrosian (5-2), the second of five Angels pitchers, got two outs in the sixth.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Isaac Galloway hit a two-run single in the 10th inning, JT Riddle homered and drove in four runs and Miami beat Washington.

The Nationals intentionally walked Riddle to load the bases with two outs in the 10th. Galloway delivered with a hit to center off Koda Glover (0-2).

Both teams scored in the ninth. Riddle’s drive into the right-field stands off Nationals reliever Justin Miller put Miami up 5-4. Washington’s Adam Eaton tied it with a homer off Drew Steckenrider leading off the bottom of the inning.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Alex Cobb pitched a five-hitter for his first complete game in five years, and Baltimore snapped Cleveland’s six-game win streak.

Cobb (4-15), the major league leader in losses, struck out three and walked one in his fourth career complete game. The right-hander threw 100 pitches, 69 for strikes, while going the distance for the first time since Aug. 31, 2013, for Tampa Bay against Oakland.

Jonathan Villar hit a three-run homer in the third for Baltimore. Rookie Cedric Mullins hit his first major league home run in the eighth.

Cleveland right-hander Adam Plutko (4-3) allowed three hits in seven innings. He was called up from Triple-A Columbus to step into the rotation for Trevor Bauer, who is out with a stress fracture in his right leg.

The Indians retired Hall of Famer Jim Thome’s No. 25 before the game, drawing a crowd of 35,003 for Cleveland’s eighth sellout of the season.

Villanueva hit for Craig Stammen (6-2) and drove a 2-2 pitch into left field to score Jankowski and give San Diego its first win against Arizona at Petco Park this season. Stammen worked two scoreless innings.

Paul Goldschmidt had four hits and drove in four runs while tying a Diamondbacks record by reaching base safely in nine straight plate appearances. Goldschmidt also extended his hitting streak to 11 games.

The Diamondbacks’ three-game winning streak ended, and their NL West lead over the Colorado Rockies fell to one-half game.

Scooter Gennett had three hits for the second straight night and scored three runs, Peraza had two hits and scored twice and Brandon Dixon drove in two runs with a bases-loaded double. Cincinnati sent the Giants to their third straight loss after winning three in a row.

Harvey (6-7) didn’t give up a hit until there were two outs in the sixth, when Joe Panik beat out a grounder that shortstop Peraza backhanded deep in the hole.

Harvey threw 6 1/3 shutout innings, allowing four hits and a walk with five strikeouts.

Bumgarner (4-5) turned in the worst of his 14 starts this season, setting season highs by allowing six runs and eight hits in six innings.

Rookie Brad Keller pitched five solid innings for the Royals, who won for the third time in their past nine games. The White Sox had their win streak stopped at three.

Nicky Delmonico homered in the second inning off Keller (6-5), driving a changeup over the right-center field fence. That was the only blemish against Keller, who allowed seven hits, struck out five and walked none.

Dylan Covey (4-10) returned to the form he had displayed the first 2½ months of the season but remained winless in five starts since July 21. The right-hander allowed two runs on four hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings.

Five Royals relievers combined for four scoreless innings. The last, Wily Peralta, worked a perfect ninth for his eighth save in as many tries.

Joe Mauer, Tyler Austin, Miguel Sano and Mitch Garver homered for the Twins, who had won four straight.

Mahtook’s homer was his second of the year and came off reliever Tyler Duffey (1-2).

Carpenter (1-1) was making just his fifth major league start and first since May 31. The Twins had him on the ropes early, as the first three batters reached base, but Carpenter limited the damage and survived to pitch into the sixth.

Four relievers combined to close it out, with Shane Greene picking up the last four outs for his 26th save in 29 chances.